Page 184 of Modern Romance January 2025 1-4

‘You okay?’ Bethan’s eyes narrowed on her. ‘You look tired.’

‘Just a bit distracted.’ Elodie smiled to cover up. ‘I’m going to work from the back office for a while, can you monitor those guys?’

‘Of course.’ Bethan nodded. ‘I’ll bring you coffee shortly.’

Elodie hugged her as she went past. ‘You’re thebest.’

Try though she might, Elodie couldn’t stop thinking about Ramon Fernandez. Already in sleep deficit after the disturbed night before, worrying about Ashleigh, she’d lain awake for the whole of last night as well—thinking abouthiminstead of trying to find alternative solutions to help her sister. She was pathetic. But she still couldn’t process what had happened between them.

Lust. Instant. Rampant. Undeniable lust.

Seemingly a normal thing for him but an absolute first for her. Most of the time she didn’t think about sex, and she tried not to think about her ex-husband Callum at all. Their physical relationship had been unsatisfying at best and in truth she wasn’t anywhere near as experienced as people believed. All her nightclub party pictures had been for show to provide the humiliating evidence she needed for her liberation. So the uncontrollable moments in Ramon Fernandez’s home last night?

Shocking. Even more shocking, was her appetite for more.

Bethan appeared in the doorway of the office but with no coffee in hand. Instead, she had a curious expression on her face. ‘Someone’s here to see you. He says it’s a personal matter?’

Elodie stared at Bethan, then swivelled to check the CCTV displays that showed all the escape rooms, plus the reception area. They’d barely been open ten minutes and here he was—tall,deviousand handsome.

‘Lock him in the Prohibition room,’ she said softly.

‘Did you saylockhim in?’ Bethan checked, startled. ‘Um... I don’t think he’s a customer. He—’

‘Deserves it,’ Elodie said flatly.

‘Right. Uh, I’ll get him in there right away then.’ Bethan backed out of the office. ‘I’ll stay on reception to handle those others and the next scheduled.’

Elodie clicked a few commands on the audiovisual set-up to block the Prohibition room from Bethan’s monitor on reception, then switched her own view to full-size on that very room. It was only a moment before the door opened and Ramon strolled in with that relaxed, yet predatory, ruler of the universe way of his. Bethan quickly closed the door without saying a word to him.

Elodie activated the intercom system. ‘You have one hour to escape.’

‘Elodie.’ He slowly turned a full circle in the centre of the room, his alert gaze taking in the vibrant decor. ‘I am locked in?’

‘That is the point of an escape room,’ she said acidly.

‘You think I came here to play?’ He stared straight into the CCTV camera that was mounted on the wall.

‘Consider it a test.’

‘What happens if I fail your test?’

She’d put him in the hardest of the escape rooms. Whole teams of people struggled to work the challenges out. She was certain he’d fail. ‘Then I know you’re not fit for purpose.’

He smiled. ‘Are you not going to give me the rules—don’t I get some sort of scenario I have to work through?’

Yeah, she’d skipped the three-minute spiel she usually gave before that final line.

‘How can I pass your test if it’s unfair from the outset?’ he added.

She gritted her teeth. ‘The year is 1922. It’s the Prohibition era in the States, but you’re a playboy—running with the wrong crowd and trying to be a big man bootlegger. You’ve been lured to The Redhead, a speakeasy with a secret entrance beneath a barbershop, and locked in to be caught. If you’re found here you’ll forfeit your family fortune. You need to find the hidden mechanisms that will turn the basement bar back into a storeroom and then make your escape before the police catch you.’

‘Did you just say I’ve been lured to a redhead?’ His mouth twitched. ‘You really do like playing games...’

‘It’s the name of the bar.’

Elodie put on the jazz music that signalled the start of the hour. She watched him read all the supposedly ‘random’ notes on the counter and take note of the patterns painted on the walls. It took him only a moment to find the ‘hint’ envelope stashed behind one of the decorative bottles.

‘Need help so soon?’ she murmured.

---